Inside Passage Registry

This is a registry of trips made through the Inside
Passage (Washington, British Columbia, Alaska) by kayaks, canoes, rowboats, SUPs (stand up paddleboards) and other vessels that rely on human power as primary propulsion. You'll also find a variety of information
sources if you're planning or dreaming about an IP (Inside Passage) trip in a small boat. The site is
divided into four different sections:

As of July 12, 2018, after a lengthy hiatus, the Inside Passage Registry (which debuted in December 2005) is back online. If you have an IP trip you'd like listed, want to contribute useful information, or found a broken link, let me know, at: insidepassageregistry at gmail dot com

Karl Kruger
2017 - Port Townsend to Ketchikan (R2AK)
Stand Up Paddleboard - Honestly, I never thought a full-on IP trip in a SUP was possible. But Karl Kruger proved me wrong in a big way, with an astonishing R2AK finish time of 14 days, 6 hours, 7 minutes.What a testament to an incredible athlete and the viability of SUP long distance, endurance paddling.

Graham Henry, Russell Henry, Tanner Ockenden, Mackenzie Punter, Niklaas Rampen, Ryan Schissler(Soggy Beavers)
2015 - Port Townsend to Ketchikan (Race to Alaska - R2AK)
six man outrigger canoe -
What do you get when you mix half a dozen young, hardcore, Canadian outdoor athletes, a massive 40-foot outrigger canoe, and a crazy, no-engines, no-holds-barred race up the Inside Passage? A blistering, Beaver blitz of 11 days, 5 hours, and twenty-some odd minutes (Victoria to Ketchikan). I’ve been tracking kayak, canoe, and rowboat trips up and down the IP for nearly a decade now and three to four weeks to Ketchikan has always been smoking fast; keep in mind most people aren't racing or trying to set speed records. But this. A week and a half, and with few stops, and serious headwinds, I’m simply in awe. 7th place overall (going up against a fleet of zoomy sailing vessels) and the first human-powered vessel across the finish line. Well done lads. The Beavs’ Web site and Facebook page have more info.

Roger Mann(Team Discovery)
2015 - Port Townsend to Ketchikan (R2AK)
Hobie Island Adventure - I know. A Hobie Adventure Island is really more of a sailboat than a kayak, but after getting a chance to meet Roger and talk with him about his race, he definitely belongs on the IP Registry. The WaterTribe veteran tested his endurance and seamanship skills on the chilly IP waters, and was the first solo-skippered boat to cross the Race to Alaska finish line in an impressive 13 days and handful of hours (out of Victoria). Roger ended up pedaling his 16’7” long, Mirage drive-equipped trimaran about 60 percent of the trip. He endured pitchpoling the boat on a surf landing, losing all of his electronic navigation equipment, staving off frequent bouts of hypothermia, and other major and minor calamities; any of which would surely have caused a lesser competitor to throw in the towel. And best of all, he remains humble and reflective about his truly epic journey. Check out Roger's Facebook page for more.

Mike Higgins(Team Mike's Kayak)
2015 - Port Townsend to Ketchikan (R2AK)
single kayak - Mike was the first (and only) kayak to complete the inaugural Race to Alaska, using a carbon-fiber Greenland paddle to propel his plastic Prijon between Victoria and Ketchikan in a bit over 24 days. Mike is pretty well known within the Northern California paddling community and adds the IP to a long list of trips and expeditions. Expect a full recap at his official Web site after he recovers.

John Strathman(Team John)
2015 - Port Townsend to Bella Bella, BC (R2AK)
single kayak - John paddled and sailed his EasyRider Eskimo kayak as part of the first R2AK. After making unrelenting progress against conditions that caused many larger sailboats with full crews to withdraw from the event, he decided to call Bella Bella his final destination due to time constraints. 375 some odd nautical miles out of Victoria in 20 days ain't too shabby; especially considering all the nasty headwinds, losing a lee board, breaking a seat, and almost capsizing due to a flooded outrigger.

Russell Henry
2014 - Vancouver Island circumnavigation
single kayak - Endurance paddler Russell Henry flew around Vancouver Island in an amazing 12 days 23 hours and 45 minutes, beating the old record by 2 days. Russell's next adventure is a team effort, paddling a 6-man outrigger canoe in the 2015 Race to Alaska.

Jeff Schlingloff
2013 - Port Hardy to Bella Bella
single kayak - Jeff writes in that he paddled from Port Hardy to Bella Bella via the Goose Group islands in June. He's added videos of the trip to his extremely informative Web site.

Brooke Greene & Kelly Yelverton
2013 - San Juan Island to Skagway, AK
single kayaks - Brooke and Kelly departed San Juan Island, WA on May 31 and arrived in Skagway, AK on August 31. Head over to their blog for a great account of their adventures (including lots of photos).

David Omick & Pearl Mast
2013 - Ketchikan to Glacier Bay (via Sitka)
double folding kayak - David and Pearl, who paddled between Vancouver Island and Ketchikan in 2009, put another 900 miles under their keel, this time traveling between Ketchikan and Glacier Bay in over 70 days. Check out their very well documented trip account, which contains daily journal entries with photos and an extensive discussion of equipment.

Philip Torrens
2013 - BC portions of the IP
single kayak - Philip
sends in a couple of very well documented (including photos and videos)
trip reports. A two parter describing a trip from Gilford Island in the
Broughtons to Powell River, transiting several of the tidal rapids (1 and 2). And a four part account of solo circumnavigation of Princess Royal Island (1, 2, 3, 4).
Good stuff! I can't recommend enough that prospective IP-ers check out
the Westcoastpaddler.com site for great information like this.

Dick Callahan
2012 - Juneau to Seattle
dory - Dick rowed and sailed an 18-foot wooden dory down the IP, taking 79 days to complete the journey. He has a new book (December 2013) about his trip out, titled "Gear List of the Golden Moon." Here's a YouTube trailer for it. For more, including a review, see the Books section below.

Jeff Schlingloff
2012 - Black Creek, BC to Hyder, AK (with a Vancouver Island circumnavigation)single kayak - Jeff paddled a venerable Klepper Aerius I up to Hyder, Alaska, took the ferry back down to Port Hardy, and finished his trip with a Vancouver Island circumnavigation that took him to his starting point. He spent 63 days paddling, putting 2,136 kilometers under his keel. Check out an interactive map he put together of the route (one of the best I've seen) on his Web site and a great collection of videos he shot on this YouTube playlist.

Denis Dwyer
2012 - Bellingham to Skagwaysingle kayak - Denis, author of "Point To Point: Exploring the Inside Passage by Kayak" (available as an ebook and in paperback) made another successful IP trip this year, paddling between Bellingham and Skagway.

Caroline Van Hemert and Patrick Farrell
2012 - Bellingham to Kotzebue, AlaskaNot rowing or paddling all the way, but an epic, 4,000 mile trip by rowboat, ski, packraft, foot, and canoe. One of the earliest starts on the Inside Passage I'm aware of (March). The blog has breathtaking photos of the expedition.

Traci Cole and Tracy Landboe
2012 - Seattle to Ketchikan
single kayaks - Traci and Tracy headed north from Golden Gardens (Seattle) on June 24 and arrived on Ketchikan on August 9. Check out their blog for photos and info.

Michael Kleps & Elizabeth MacDonald
2011 - Bellingham to Skagway
rowboat - Michael and Elizabeth spent their honeymoon rowing/sailing up the Inside Passage in a 1958 15-foot sailboat (what a great way to start a marriage). Download their very well written and photographed account as a PDF file from the above link.

Brett Friedman & Sarah Greenwood
2011 - Ketchikan to Skagway
single kayaks - Brett and Sarah continued a previous IP trip from Port Hardy to Bella Bella this year, paddling from Ketchikan to Skagway in 21 days. Check out their videos on Vimeo - 1, 2, 3. There's more about the trip on Brett's blog, linked above.

Blake Crosby & Jeff Porter
2011 - Anacortes to Skagway
single kayaks - From their GPS track log, it looks like the Inside Out Expedition duo made their goal.

Abbott King, Nick, Jake, and Matt
2011 - Anacortes to Muir Glacier
single kayaks - Abbott writes in with news of a successful trip starting on June 15th and finishing August 17th. The group made side trips to La Conte Glacier and Ford's Terror, logging some 1,200 miles over in 64 days. (I'll post a link to Abbott's blog and Facebook page as soon as I get them from him.)

Colin Angus
2011 - Around Vancouver Island
rowboat - Colin smashed Joe O'Blenis' old record, circumnavigating Vancouver Island in an amazing 15 and a half days. More about the trip and Colin's other adventures at the link above.

Susan Conrad
2010 - Anacortes to Juneau
single kayak - After being on her to-do list for several years, Susan checked off an Inside Passage trip. She spent 66 days getting from Washington Park in Anacortes to Juneau. Her friend Becky Hardy accompanied her between Port Hardy and Bella Bella. Check out some of Susan's photos here and here. Susan wrote a book about her adventures that was published in 2016. Check out: "Inside: A Woman's Solo Journey through the Inside Passage."

Doug Clawson, Katey Clautice, L'il Bit
2010 - Seattle to Haines
single kayaks - Doug, Katey and L'il Bit (their miniature Dachshund) paddled and sailed between Seattle and Haines between May and August to raise awareness and donations for the non-profit company Interplast. Doug and Katey used Easy Rider kayaks set up for sailing and their trip account is very instructive for anyone thinking about using a kayak with a sail rig for the IP. Check out their trip Web site for a great combination of stories, photos and practical advice.

Dave Freeman & Amy Voytilla
2010 - Seattle to Skagwaysingle kayaks - Dave and Amy were successful in the first leg of The North American Odyssey project. Reaching Skagway (accompanied by John Amren and Clayon White who paddled with them from Bellingham) the pair continued overland to the Northwest Territories. They're currently taking a break but will resume their epic one lap around North
America expedition in February 2011, working their way east across Canada with dog sleds and
canoes, then paddling the East Coast of the United States; destination Florida in the
spring of 2013.

Conor Flannery
2010 - Seattle to Anchorage
single kayak - Conor put over 2,300 miles under his keel in about 4.5 months time (between March and July). All for a good cause in raising money for
medical supplies for developing countries. More about the trip at his
blog or Web site.

Andy Linger
2010 - Olympia to Skagway
single kayak - Endurance athlete Andy Linger made his goal of doing the full length of the IP followed by an excursion on the Chilkoot Trail. Check out his detailed account of the trip at the above link.

Greg Kolodziejzyk
2010 - Nanaimo to Port McNeil
WiTHiN - It's not quite yet the end of February 2010 and I get an email from a guy named Greg who said he'd just finished a 2.5 day, human-powered trip up most of the interior Vancouver Island side of the IP. I thought, it's not even spring yet and we're talking close to 200 nautical miles. A little skeptical, I checked out his Web site. All I have to say is "wow." Greg Kolodziejzyk in planning on pedaling his 30-foot, custom-made boat from Canada to Hawaii later this year. His run up the Inside Passage combined a bit of training with sea trials. Check out his trip report. What a fantastic blend of technology, fitness and determination. Best of luck with the Pacific voyage, Greg.

Maggie Woo & Bryan Kinshella
2010 - Vancouver to Ketchikan
single kayaks - Maggie and Bryan successfully completed a fundraising paddle for an East Africa charity. The couple plans to circumnavigate Vancouver Island in the summer of 2015.

Jon Dawkins, GregPolkinghorn, Dave Resler
2009 - Prince Rupert to Port Hardy
single kayaks - Jon has a very good write-up of his latest BC trip. If you have a compressed time frame or want to avoid the considerably more populated Vancouver Island stretch of the IP, be sure to check out his blog. The logistics of taking a ferry across to Vancouver Island, driving up to Port Hardy, and then loading kayaks on the ferry to Prince Rupert makes a whole lot of sense. Jon also has reports for a 2005 Bella Bella trip and an excursion to Klemtu in 2007. All of his accounts are great reading with entertaining and informative narrative.

Bill Nedderman
2009 - Olympia to Skagway
single kayak - Bill (who hails from Iowa) left Olympia on April 22 and arrived
on Skagway, August 5. He then journeyed back down to Glacier Bay and ended his
trip in Juneau on August 31. This was a great year weather-wise to spend the
spring and summer on the IP. Bill's craft of choice was a venerable Klepper T-9.

Glenn Charles
2009 - Seattle to Skagway
single kayak - Glenn put 1,700 miles of paddling under his hull in 147 days,
including circumnavigations of Glacier Bay and the San Juan Islands. Check out
his blog for a full account. Glenn is planning another IP trip in 2011 and is
looking for fellow paddlers.

Apryle Craig
and Phil Magistro2009 - Gig Harbor to Glacier Bay
single kayaks - After 111 days, Apryle and Phil finished their trip devoted to raising awareness of depleted
salmon populations in the Broughton Archipelago and other parts of the IP. Check
out their Web site for a blog and lots of information about their gear and route (as well as their
worthy salmon cause).

David Omick and Pearl Mast
2009 - Port Hardy to Ketchikan
double kayak - David and Pearl paddled a Folbot Greenland II on their trip and
took extensive photos and notes. Yet another must read account for the
prospective IP paddler.

Sean Morley
2008 - Vancouver Island circumnavigation
single kayak - 17 days 4 hours 49 minutes - Sean shattered the old single kayak
record by 6 days and the double kayak record by two days. His blog tells the
details.

J.J. Kelley and Josh Thomas
2008 - Skagway to Seattle
single kayaks - 95 days - The Dudes on Media did it. Check their Web site for
a blog (with great pix) and info about the 52-minute documentary they made. Here's a recent newspaper article.

Darrell
Gardner
2008 - Seattle to Wrangell
single kayak - Darrell is making his way from the California/Mexico border to
the Arctic Ocean by foot and boat. He started in 2004 and Stage III of his
expedition was paddling the IP. Darrell used podcasts to blog his way up the
coast. Cool.

Denis
Dwyer
2008 - Port Hardy to Skagway
single kayak - Denis paddled between San Juan Island and Port Hardy in 2007, and
then finished up the entire Inside Passage in 2008. Denis continued his excellent trip report
blog (recently revised) for this leg which I highly recommend.

Aya Reiss
2008 - Skagway to Bellingham - I received an email from Aya that she completed
her trip (rowing), but don't have any other details.

We just finished our adventure, pulling in on July 4. Thanks for all the useful
information you supply on your site, and the connections are great. We met Karen and Rob who
did the trip in 2000 on the ferry on our way up, and also BC who was paddling northward this year,
and I was able to find their contact info through your site. There are a few people that are doing
the trip and looking for info, and I'd be glad to talk with them if you want to pass my email on to
them. Our website has never been that informative, and we didn't keep it as a
blog, so I'm afraid it won't be of any assistance to them. Better if they contact me if they'd like to talk
to someone.

It was a fantastic adventure, and thanks so much for supporting trips with your site!

I'm in paradise, rowing through BC, and as Ed Abbey said - Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the
body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts
in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise
you this: you will outlive the bastards."

Keirron Tastagh and Jeff Norville
2007 - Vancouver Island circumnavigation
double kayak - Speed record attempt with a goal of 700 miles in two weeks (they
did it in 19 1/2 days - impressive).

Steven Brouwer, Molly
Bill, Ben Brouwer (and others)
2006 - Lopez Island, WA to Ketchikan and back
24' open wooden boat/sail and oar (Ben has an excellent account in words and
pictures of this epic expedition in a hand-built craft)

Bob Saunders and Graham Brown
2005 - Vancouver to Prince Rupert
single kayaks (Bob graciously provided an extremely detailed trip report with
GPS coordinates, camping sites, and general observations - I highly recommend
you spend time reading the above link; excellent information)
Mike and
Ida Clarabut
2005 - Ketchikan to Prince Rupert
single kayaks (the original Web trip report is gone, but this link is to an
excellent PowerPoint presentation with gorgeous photos)

Regula and Gernot Walter
2005 - Vancouver to Ketchikan
double kayak - Seven days after his retirement, Gernot and his wife Regula departed
Vancouver for Alaska. In 2007 they resumed their exploration of the north, paddling from
Ketchikan to Glacier Bay. (Regula is writing about their experiences and is
trying to get in touch with the caretaker at Butedale (Lou or Luke) for info on
some of the paddlers/rowers that passed his way during the wet summer of 2005.
She is also trying to contact an RCMP officer from Richmond BC to compare notes
- he was about 10 days ahead of them, and from a cabin log entry at Lowe Inlet,
his name was Ken Frail, or perhaps Trail. If you can help Regula out, drop her
an email at: hardwear
at shaw dot com.)

Christopher and Cindy Cunningham1987 - Anacortes to JuneauGokstad Faering - Seven years after his first trip, Chris Cunningham (with then wife Cindy) did an 8 week trip of around 1,000 miles. Chris recounts: "I built a replica of the 9th century Gokstad Faering especially for the trip. The clearly evident Viking shape of the boat was very easily driven under oars and sail and was exceptionally seaworthy despite the low freeboard amidships. I made a small side-hung rudder for easier course holding while under oars. Steering with that rudder was done by a line connected to a tiller on my footboard. I sewed a cover to stretch over tent poles at the sheer. Floorboards rested on the seat risers to make a sleeping platform under cover. I took a tent by many nights were spent aboard the boat. Up north it was a good way to avoid bears and bugs. The summer was dry with lots of following breezes on sunny days—dry southeasters I heard were fairly uncommon. Returned to Seattle via ferry with the boat tucked under a semi trailer on the car deck."

Jill Fredston and Doug Fesler
1986 - Seattle to Skagway
scull and kayak - Jill rowed and Doug paddled. One of many adventures included
in Jill's book, Rowing to Latitude; see below.

Christopher Cunningham1980 - Mukilteo, WA to Prince Rupert, BCDory skiff - Sea Kayaker magazine editor Chris Cunningham writes in. "One month, 700 miles. The boat was a 14' Chamberlain dory skiff that I built from The Dory Book. The sailing rig started out with a main and a jib, but I had illusions of doing a lot of sailing, even in light air so I added a topmast with a topsail, a flying jib and a jib topsail. It was a ridiculous amount of canvas and rigging and there were rarely favorable winds. I slept aboard on occasion with a nylon tarp as a tent over the cockpit. I slept with my head aft and my legs tucked to one side of the centerboard case.I sailed out of a lee at Gibson Island at the north end of Grenville Channel and had a very scary 5-mile crossing to shelter. The following day I had to race a fog bank to keep from getting engulfed in the vessel traffic lanes. That was my last day. It was September and the weather was getting to risky to attempt any more distance north. I packed it in at Prince Rupert and found a ride home (with my boat on a hastily built rack)."

Peter McKay
I heard from Chris Cunningham that Peter and a partner rowed the IP in a dory, back in the day. Trying to get additional details.

John Field and Bruce Titus1982 - Paddling single kayaks, John and Bruce departed departed Skagway on May 10 and arrived in Olympia, September 9. John reports they took side trips to Seymour Canal, Revillagigedo Island, and Fijord Land, BC.

Verlen Kruger and Steve Landick1982 - Verlen Kruger, arguably the greatest canoeist of all time, and his son-in-law went up the IP on their epic, three-and-a-half-year, 28,000-mile journey by water in and around North America.

Chris Cunningham
Chris, who's been the editor of Sea Kayaker magazine since 1989, dropped me a quick email the other day. "Soloed in a dory skiff in 1980 (I think) and then with my ex later that decade in a replica of a 9th century Viking boat that I built. I guess I should send you some info! I also did Port Hardy, around Cape Scott to Guise Bay where a long storm forced an overland retreat." Next time I see him I'll pin him down on details.

Tish Davis and Ginger Cox
1976 - Seattle to Skagway
rowboat - Tish and Ginger took 10 weeks to row from Seattle to Skagway. (A tip
of the hat to IP rower Dale McKinnon for the reference)

Paul Clark
1971 - Vancouver Island circumnavigation
Paul writes in that he "left Maple Bay July 9, 1971 and returned thirty five days later August 13 travelling counter clockwise, solo in a 15 ft Klepper Aerius folding kayak." An account of his trip appeared in the Cowachin Leader. Paul was lost at sea in July 2014 while rowing between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy (see below).

Camp Ta-ha-do-Wa
1961 - Tacoma to Juneau (53 days)
five Willits canoes (kids and counselors on an expedition led by Dr. Alfred
Schultz - See Willits Bros. canoe book below)

Ken Wise (and two others)
1936 - Seattle to Skagway
two Willits canoe (one eventually was taken overland and went down the Yukon
River - documented in the book Cruise of the Blue Flujin, see below)

Jack and Sasha Calvin
1929 - Tacoma to Juneau (53 days)
single Willits canoe (described in the July 1933 issue of National Geographic
magazine, see below)

John Muir
1879 - Wrangell to Haines, Alaska (and back)
Departing in October, Muir and party travel to Glacier Bay and beyond in a
35-foot canoe

Tlingit
Way Party
1857 - Kake, Alaska to Whidbey Island, Washington (and back)
Ten warriors led by a woman paddled a war canoe down the Inside Passage to
Whidbey Island where they killed and beheaded Isaac Ebey to avenge the deaths
of Tlingit and Haida tribe members by a U.S. gunship the previous year (Ebey had
nothing to do with the incident and was unfortunately in the wrong place at the
wrong time). The Tlingits successfully returned to Kake with their trophy.

IP Emeritus

Randel
Washburne
lots of dates - lots of places
single kayak - Randy is one of the pioneers of IP kayak paddling
and has a literal boatload of experience. I first met him at a West Coast Sea Kayak
Symposium eons ago, and he was one of the most genuine, down-to-earth, humble
people I'd ever encountered (I haven't seen him in years, but his Web site tells he
probably hasn't changed much). Anyway, spend some time reading The Burnett Bay Cabin Journals,
Kayaking and The Alaska/British Columbia Coast and his other
writings. Good stuff. (Randy is rumored to be working on a freeware
Inside Passage kayak simulation game. When/if it sees the light of day,
I'll include a link.)

In Memoriam

Paul Clark - In 2013 I received an email from Paul that read, "Next year, my seventieth, i am planning a trip from Prince Rupert to Victoria by oar and sail along the outer shorelines of Porcher, Banks, Aristazabal, Calvert, and Vancouver Islands to Victoria as a way of revisiting the past, the places i fished commercially over a twenty five year period. I will travel in a Paul Gartside designed skiff of 16 ft built of cedar and epoxy and modified for coastal expeditions. I have tested it by sailing/rowing across the Gulf of Georgia a number of times." Paul was good to his word and departed Prince Rupert in July 2014. He was last seem north of Aristazabal Island. When he didn't check in with a family member a search was initiated. Paul's capsized boat was found off the Washington coast on July 31, 2014. He remains lost at sea.

Audrey Sutherland - Sometimes called the Grandma Moses of Kayaking, Hawaii
resident Audrey Sutherland started paddling when she was in her 40s (her
book, Paddling My Own Canoe is an inspirational must read for any sea
kayaker). Audrey got an itch to paddle Alaska and over a 20 year period
(1980 to 2002) kayaked over 8,000 miles of Alaska and British Columbia waters. In
inflatable kayaks, mind you. A true pioneer of the sport, she passed away at age 94 in February 2015. Audrey's last book, Paddling North, recounts many of her IP adventures.

Other Notable Human-Powered IP-related Trips

Jonathan Francis2011 - Honorable mention to Jonathan for making it a lot further than I thought he would on a stand-up paddleboard (SUP)

Inside: A Woman's Solo Journey through the Inside PassageSusan Conrad
Susan's book about her 2010 IP trip from Anacortes to Juneau was published in May, 2016. I've only had a chance to skim parts of the memoir, but think it's a thoughtful and well-written account worthy of any paddler's library.

Gear List of the Golden Moon
Dick CallahanDick piloted an 18-foot wooden dory between Juneau and Seattle. He recently (December 2013) published a book about his 79-day trip. Click the link above to check out his awesome YouTube trailer. Here's a review of the book with my thoughts. You can order it from www.woodenboatstore.com. Taku Graphics in Juneau (www.takugraphics.com) handles distribution for book sellers. Or reach Dick at harborsealpress at gmail dot com.

Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage
Jennifer Hahn
Kayak guide and naturalist paddles between Ketchikan and Bellingham over several
seasons. This is a pretty good book that
captures the spiritual (not religious though) and practical aspects of kayaking
the Inside Passage. The author adds a lot of natural science and history to her
story.

Homelands: Kayaking the Inside Passage
Byron RicksHusband and wife (Maren Van Nostrand) kayak from Glacier Bay to Seattle. Just finished reading
this book and I highly recommend it. An excellent introspective account of the
challenges and adventures of paddling the entire route in a pair of Mariner IIs.
Ricks is an excellent writer and story teller (also Maren did the wonderful illustrations) and I'd consider this book a
must-read for anyone planning to paddle all or part of the IP.

Rowing to Latitude
Jill Fredston
Jill and her husband's many rowing and outdoors adventures, including an account
of the couple's 1986 trip up the IP (she rowed and he paddled).

Bijaboji:
North to Alaska by Oar
Betty Lowman Carey
Personal account of a woman's 1937 IP solo trip to Ketchikan in a 13' 10"
long dugout canoe (rowed not paddled). Very detailed information including a
trip log. A good story.

Row to Alaska By Wind & Oar
Pete and Nancy Ashenfelter
A retired couple's story of their 70+ day trip up the Inside Passage (done
during a year with no summer, and more than 50 days of rain).

The
Only Kayak: A Journey into the Heart of Alaska
Kim Heacox
Another Alaska kayak book. Written by naturalist Kim Heacox, a
longtime resident of Glacier Bay. More of a
conservation-oriented account of Heacox's time as a kayak ranger in the 1980s, versus a trip guide.

Travels in
Alaska
John Muir
Muir's accounts of trips in Southeast Alaska, including his 1879 canoe journey
from Wrangell to Glacier Bay and Haines. (This link goes to the free eBook
version.)

EBooks

Point To Point: Exploring The Inside Passage By Kayak
Denis Dwyer
Accomplished IP paddler Denis Dwyer gets honors for publishing the first ebook (December 2009) on kayaking the IP. I've long recommended Denis' blog as essential reading, and this is a chance to get all of the information (and more) in an easy to access, offline readable ebook file. The reference is available in Kindle format; directly available from Amazon. If you don't have a Kindle ebook reader, don't sweat it. There's free reader software for Windows. The book is also available in paperback.

Alone in the Passage: An Explorer's Guide to Sea Kayaking the Inside Passage
Denis Dwyer
Denis has a new book out based on his 2012 trip from Bellingham to Skagway. A 400+ page compendium of essential skills, knowledge, and wisdom for anyone planning to take on the IP. The book is available in ebook and paperback formats, and as with his previous book, highly recommended.Kudos to Denis for both his prolific paddling and writing. (Check out Denis' list of campsite GPS coordinates further down the page, which appear in this book with further detail.)

Out of Print Books

Cruise of the Blue Flujin
Ken Wise
Four Sea Scouts, circa 1936, start out in Seattle and paddle the Inside Passage
in two canoes. Review coming when I get
around to ordering a
copy.

Oar
& Sail
Kenneth Macrae Leighton
A doctor in his 60s rows from Vancouver to Prince Rupert. Found a copy in a used
bookstore the other day. This is a special book that's really written from the
heart. The stories and accompanying woodcut prints are wonderful. Kenneth has
since passed away and this short, little book is a legacy to his adventure and
the type of person he was. I would have liked to have met him. Not a whole lot
of practical trip information, but worth trying to find.

Kayaking the Inside Passage: A Paddling Guide from Olympia, Washington to Muir Glacier, Alaska
Robert H. Miller
Published in May 2005. This book is a must for anyone paddling the Inside
Passage. The first complete guidebook for kayakers paddling the IP, it
identifies campsites, water locations, hazards and more. Well written, with
maps, photos, and practical advice. (It uses the Calm Channel route to get to
Johnstone Strait through Yaculta, Dent and Green Pointe Rapids versus the more
direct Seymour Narrows route. The author says it's more scenic and safe.
Ballpark measuring with Google Earth shows this route to be about 30 miles more
paddling than going through Seymour.) There's an October 19, 2005 review comment
on Amazon from a kayaker who used the book as his guide for paddling the entire
route. Pay attention to what he has to say about campsites mentioned in the
book. Miller is now selling a 50 page update with corrections and new
information. He also hosts a discussion forum. For more on both visit:
kayakingtheinsidepassage.com.

The Wild Coast ( IIIIII )
John Kimantas
The author put in over 6,000 miles of paddling on the BC coast during a five
year period, so is pretty qualified to discuss the Canadian parts of the IP.
These guide books have been recommended by a number of paddlers and are top-notch. Kimantas' Web site had
a large amount of valuable information for the IP paddler, including a
collection of trip reports. However since he took over publishing Wavelength magazine in 2008 much of the content from the Wild Coast site has been moved to the magazine site.

Waggoner Cruising
Guide is considered the Bible of
northwest cruising (updated annually). A few years ago the publisher started to offer a PDF version of the complete book for free download (just sign up for an email newsletter). A great resource as you can put the full book on a phone or tablet and easily print out pages relevant to your IP trip.

Best
Anchorages of the Inside Passage. Anne Vipond and William Kelly. This is a
relatively new cruising book that looks promising for IP paddlers. More info
when I get a chance to see it in person.

Other Books of Interest

Beyond The
Outer Shores
Eric Enno Tamm
OK, it's not about kayaking the Inside Passage, but I really enjoyed this book
and wanted to list it. This is the story of Ed Ricketts, one of the pioneers of
marine ecology. It's a fascinating account of a maverick marine biologist with
no college degree who was way ahead of his time. Author Eric Enno Tamm brings to life Ricketts and an amazing cast of characters from the 1930s and 40s including
novelist John Steinbeck (who used Ricketts as a model for "Doc" in
Cannery Row) and scholar Joseph Campbell (the famous mythology scholar who's
work was influenced by Ricketts). There's lots about BC and the Inside Passage,
including a 1932 collecting trip that Ricketts and Campbell took from Tacoma to
Juneau in the 33-foot Grampus (captained by Jack Calvin, who earlier paddled the IP in a canoe with his
wife three years earlier).

The Willits Brothers and Their Canoes: Wooden Boat Craftsmen in Washington State, 1908-1967
Patrick Chapman
I'm a self admitted kayak guy, and although I've done some canoeing in the past,
have always preferred the closed deck, double blade mode of transportation. I've
got to admit it though. After reading Patrick Chapman's excellent historical
account of the Willits Brothers and the wooden canoes they made for over 50
years, I've got a lot of new respect and appreciation for these decidedly
old-school boats (and their creators). From the 1930s to the 1960s a number of
Willits canoes did the IP, and the functional, yet work of art boats are now
treated as collectors' items. Chapman does a great job of describing the
Willits, their manufacturing operation, the boats they produced, and even presents some
untold accounts of IP trips such as a 1961 boys' summer camp trip from Tacoma to
Juneau. Check out this article for more about the Willits
brothers.

The
Curve of Time
M. Wylie Blanchet
Yet another non-kayaking title, but a classic story of 1930s life on the IP (I'm
a sucker for period historical works). A recently widowed woman and her five
children spend summers cruising the IP in a 25-foot boat. Wonderful descriptions
of people and places in a simpler time. A must read for anyone planning an IP
adventure.

Old Magazines

Nakwasina Goes North - National Geographic, July 1933 -
Jack Calvin
A Man, a Woman, and a Pup Cruise from Tacoma to Juneau in a 17-foot Canoe. Jack
and Sasha Calvin paddle and sail (12 hours out of 53 days) a Willits
Brothers canoe up the Inside Passage in 1929. Lots of photos. Worth tracking
down at a library or on eBay.

For nearly thirty years, Sea Kayaker magazine was the go-to, information source for anyone interested in open-water paddling. Since 1989, I
was privileged to have 20 articles published by SK. Sadly, the magazine’s last issue hit the newsstands in January 2014. There was a history piece I wrote for SK that was one
of my favorites. In memory of the magazine, here it is: Sea Kayaking in America: The 1920s and 30s. Chris and Sea Kayaker, thanks for the journey. You will be greatly missed and always appreciated.

Coast
Pilot 7
NOAA has all of their latest Coast Pilots online as PDF files. For the
uninitiated, a coast pilot contains written descriptions and information about
waters and landforms - they're meant to be used with charts. Coast Pilot 8
covers US coastal waters between Mexico and British Columbia (including the
Puget Sound, where you'll either start or finish your trip).

NGA
Sailing Directions - Pub. 154
The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is responsible for creating defense
related maps for the United States government. They also provide quite a bit of
maritime information, including Sailing Directions (similar to a NOAA Coast
Pilot) for non-US waters throughout the world. Pub. 154 is for British Columbia
and is freely available as a PDF file. (The NGA has lots of other cool online maritime
publications worth checking out.)

British Admiralty Sailings Directions
Well, they're not really free, but... The United States is unique in that it makes digital maps, charts and pilots freely available to the public - they're created with tax dollars, so why the heck not. Unfortunately, Canada and the UK are pretty stingy with their charts and pilots, keeping them tightly copyright controlled. However, an anonymous IP paddler who goes by the name of Edward Teach informs me that PDF versions of the British Admiralty Sailings for British Columbia - NP 25 (12th 2004) British Columbia Pilot Vol.1, NP 26 British Columbia Pilot Vol.2 - are floating around the Internet and may be found by doing a little Googling.

Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS)
CHS doesn't offer as many free resources as NOAA, but it's still worth poking around their Web site to see what they have available gratis and for pay.

NOAA Digital Charts
As of early December 2005 NOAA has put all of their charts
online for viewing or download; both the RNC/BSB raster versions, which are
scanned charts, and the ENC vector versions, which look computer-generated
instead of hand drawn. Nice for planning and reference or when you're bored at
work. You can use the free,
Windows Sea Clear program to view
downloaded charts or use Maptech's free Chart
Navigator to view, plan and print RNC/BSB charts. Chart Navigator is the
same as their commercial Offshore Navigator program, but lacks the GPS
connectivity and real time navigation features (which you don't need for
kayaking anyway.) Better yet, I highly recommend NOAA's BookletCharts for Washington and Alaska waters. In 2006, NOAA started playing around with the idea of breaking a full size chart into rescaled, easy to print, 8.5x11" pieces. They started with Chesapeake Bay and have been expanding the program ever since. Now you can get most of their charts in this format. They come as Adobe Acrobat PDF files and allow you to conveniently print kayak-friendly charts. As of the first part of 2010, the BookletCharts are still considered "experimental" - which means they are updated once a month versus once a week like the RNCs and ENCs. Due to lots of positive public feedback and getting a few software glitches worked out, NOAA will be striking the experimental status very soon and making BookletCharts a part of their official offerings. Kudos to them for providing yet another excellent, free resource.

USGS
Topographic Maps
For the Washington and Alaska legs of the trip you can use USGS 1:24,000 scale
topographic maps (called DRG or Digital Raster Graphic, these are scanned paper
maps in GeoTIFF format). A list of where to get free DRGs for each U.S. state
can be found at the above link.

Natural
Resources Canada - GeoGratis
1:50,000 scale digital topographic maps of Canada. These are scanned paper maps
in GeoTIFF format that you can open with any graphics program and print. Here's
a link to an index
so you know which ones to download. The entire BC portion of the Inside Passage
spans 56 maps (sizes range from 10 to 48 MB a piece, so you definitely need a
broadband connection to download). Thanks to the Canadian government who made
this resource freely available in 2007. Other maps are available at the site and
it's worth looking around.

Garmin-compatible
GPS Canadian topo maps If you have a Garmin GPS receiver that uses Mapsource
maps, check out these free
1:50,000 scale maps that Dale Atkin makes available for uploading. Other free
Garmin compatible maps for locations all over the world are here,
but unfortunately nothing for the Alaska portion of the IP. However, a newer site called GPSFileDepot does have some Alaska maps that will work with your Garmin - no topo maps yet, but it's worthwhile checking back every now and then to see if some amateur cartographer had added something new..

Magellan-compatible
GPS Canadian topo maps
The Magic Maps project plans to convert Canadian topographic vector data to free
maps you can load on a Magellan eXplorist or Triton GPS receiver. Not much of BC
is done at this point (3/31/08) but it's worth checking back as maps for the
entire country are planned.

Canada
Centre for Topographic Information
1:250,000 scale digital topographic maps of Canada. A good navigation resource
for British Columbia waters, especially for locating stream water sources.
(These are vector maps, not raster-based scans of paper maps.)

Google Earth
An amazing program that displays satellite imagery. Much of the same data is available
on the Web at maps.google.com, but Google
Earth allows you to display terrain in 3D and measure distances. This is a cool
planning tool that will give you more of an idea of what the IP is like compared
to a paper chart. Highly recommended and free! (For online topographic
maps of Alaska and Washington, visit TerraServer
USA.) High-resolution satellite coverage unfortunately isn't available for
most of the IP, but Google is incrementally adding data and hopefully one day
we'll have access to 1-meter (or less) resolution data for everything between
Puget Sound and Skagway. In 2015, Google started offering its premium Google Earth Pro for free. Highly recommended because of the advanced features.

Maptech
Map Server
Free Web-based nautical and aeronautical charts, terrain maps and aerial photos.
Mostly for the US and definitely not meant for use on the water, but a handy and
quick reference; especially for planning. (See below in the Pay Information
Sources for more about Maptech's commercial software.)

Light Lists
Light lists are lists of navigation aids such as buoys, lights and fog signals.
Handy to have if you pass a navigation aid and want to know where you're at (for
example if you cruise by a white cylindrical tower with a green band at top and
a green light that flashes every second, you can consult the list to help you
zero in your location). Click here for US
waters and here for Canadian
waters.

Lighthouses
of Canada - Lightkeepers have a pretty friendly reputation to kayakers.
Here's the definitive list of lighthouses, with maps, photos and even the
ability to send some lightkeepers email.

Weather

Western Regional Climate Center -
Historical weather data for the Western United States. While the past doesn't
necessarily predict the future, having good statistics can give you a better
sense of the weather you'll be facing during different parts of the year.

Climate
Prediction Center - NOAA's generalized temperature, precipitation and hazard
forecasts for the US. Outlooks range from 6 to 10 days to 3 months in the
future.

Washington Ferry Weather - Real time wind and temperature data for the Puget
Sound and San Juans collected by state ferries. An excellent resource.

Route and General Info

West Coast
Paddler is an excellent BC kayaking Web site. The forums are an especially
good source of local knowledge.

Waggoner Cruising
Guide Web site. Annually updated, the Waggoner is considered the Bible of
northwest cruising. The book's Web site had a whole lot of useful information for
paddlers and rowers, particularly in the Interviews & Articles and Reader
Questions section (one gem is to check the West Sea Otter ocean buoy hourly
report on your weather radio - if it's 1 meter or less, Queen Charlotte Sound is
going to be nice and flat.) A few years ago the publisher started to offer a PDF version of the complete book for free download (just sign up for an email newsletter). A great resource as you can easily print out pages relevant to your IP trip.

BC Marine Trails Network is an effort to create a human-powered water trail along the BC coast. The non-profit effort is just getting started but will be extremely beneficial to the IP paddler in identifying camp sites. West Coast Paddler has a forum dedicated to listing camp sites that will eventually be incorporated into the official trail.

Yeah sure, you can take a cruise ship up the IP, but
that's not what I'm going to talk about here. Suddenly having a giant cruise
ship looming over your kayak as you round a point can be a bit of a
heart-stopping surprise. However cruise ships are creatures of habit and follow set schedules. If you're so inclined, with a little Web research you can get a
pretty good idea of ports of call and when a ship may be in the same vicinity as
you. To get a better idea of summer cruise ship traffic on the IP (at least the
southern section) check out the Live
Ships marine traffic Web site. This slick resource uses AIS (Automatic
Identification System) to display real time positions of vessels all over the
world - including speed, vessel name, and size. Zoom in and out to an area
you're interested in and see what vessels are on the water. Click on an icon to
get information about the vessel; some even have photographs. AIS is a fairly
recent technology and not all vessels use it (yet), but I've found cruise ships
on the move seem to always be transmitting their positions. If you have a cell
phone with a data plan (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to use in Canada) and
coverage, using AIS tracking Web sites such as this one can give you a heads-up
on what's ahead (or coming up behind).

WaterTribe - Hard
core paddlers in Florida who do serious, expedition length races. Yes, I know,
wrong coast, warm water, and snakes, but some of the gear and safety
recommendations are applicable to the IP (plus the stories are good).

BitterEnd - Not about kayaks, canoes or rowboats but still one of my
favorite maritime blogs. Captain Richard Rodriguez pilots the Vessel Assist boat
Remedy in the San Juan Islands. He accounts his adventures (and the
misadventures of others he ends up towing) in words and photos. Entertaining and
educational even if you don't drive an internal combustion craft. Trivia time.
What brand of boat does the good captain end up towing the most? If you guessed
Bayliner, give yourself a gold star.

Free Tide and Current Software

Knowing the tides and current in the IP is essential for
planning as well as day-to-day travel. In addition to the numerous printed tide
and current tables that are on the market, there are also a number of excellent
free software programs for providing this information. Here is a list of some
programs to download and check out.

Windows - Your two choices are WXTide
and WTides. Download both to see which one
you like the best.

Mac - The Unix version of XTide should
compile and run
on an OS X system. Mr.
Tides is another tide program based on XTide that is already compiled and
ready to run.

Linux - XTide
is a very popular Unix tide program. In fact most of the other tide programs
listed here are based on the open source code.

Java - JTides
is a multi-platform tide program that runs on any computer that supports Java.
Some cool features, simple to use and made in local Port Townsend. This has turned into my favorite tide
program and I find myself using it just about every day for planning paddles or
beach walks.

Just as an FYI, here are distances between potential stops
on the Sydney BC to Ketchikan route (via Seymour Narrows). Distances are in
nautical miles and were plotted on electronic charts based on following a
typical kayak route more closer in to the shore.

Here are GPS waypoint coordinates in GPX format for campsites from Bob Saunder's 2005 IP trip - right click this link
to download them. I also created a KML file
you can use with Google Earth that marks all of the waypoints.

Denis Dwyer kindly supplied these GPS coordinates for his overnight stays during his 2007/2008 trips up the Inside Passage. Right click to save as a tab delimited text file, GPX file or Google Earth KML file. (Keep in mind a few of these coordinates are for lodging accommodations in populated places and not tent sites. They should be apparent.)

And as a follow-up, here are Denis' campsite locations from his 2012 trip (be sure to check out his new book):

This section contains miscellaneous thoughts and notes on gear, equipment and various
pieces of kit.

First off, read the trip reports and blogs mentioned
above. There's a wealth of practical information on gear and equipment. Denis
Dwyer, for example, has extensive
comments
relating to IP-suitable gear.

Boats

I think just about anything that floats has been
used to do all or part of the Inside Passage. While kayaks seem to be the vessel
of choice these days, a whole lot of canoes and rowboats have successfully made
the journey both ways in the past.

The Icom
M88 is kind of the gold standard VHF radio for kayak use. Small, rugged,
waterproof and full featured, it easily clips to a PFD. If you shop around and
use an Internet retailer (I like www.defender.com)
and then time your purchase with an Icom rebate, it's possible to get the radio
for right around $200. Remember to get a AA battery pack, unless you're planning
on overnighting at strategic places to charge the lithium ion battery pack.
Also, keep in mind that when the AA battery pack is installed, the radio isn't
fully waterproof. Either use a dry bag or swap in the AA pack when using the
radio on land, so you conserve power in the Li-ion pack while on the water. Note
- Radios suck juice quite a bit more when you're transmitting compared to receiving. I've used Icoms for years, but my next radio may be a Standard Horizon. The company is offering some cool products such as a floating handheld that has GPS and DSC (Digital Selective Calling - a spiffy way for the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard to know you're in trouble and where - I reviewed a couple of DSC/GPS handhelds in an article for Sea Kayaker magazine.).

Related to radio are PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) that send a help message with your coordinates to a search and rescue satellite. I'll be writing more about these in the near future. In the meantime, head over to Doug Ritter's most excellent Equipped To Survive Web site for more info on PLBs and SPOT.

I'm doing some tests with handheld crank radios that
support weather channels. These radios feature a rechargeable internal battery
you keep powered by cranking - handy for conserving batteries batteries on your
VHF while on land. Look for more info in future.

Power

I'm doing some field testing of the Solio
solar charger to keep rechargeable AA batteries and various devices powered up.
The Solio is unique as it combines a solar charger with an internal battery.
Although not waterproof, the device could be stowed in a small dry bag and kept
lashed to the aft deck for charging during the day. Since the Solio has an
internal battery, you could charge your devices in the evening at camp, then
recharge the Solio during the day when you're paddling.

Cameras

I remember my first paddling trip to Alaska in the 1980s and toting a friend's heavy and expensive Nikonos dive camera with me. Things have changed a bunch since then, and the past year or so has seen the waterproof digital camera market really start to expand. If you're shopping for a kayak and water-friendly camera, be sure to check out this in-depth review of the latest models at Digital Photography Review.

Food

A friend of mine with lots of experience guiding, teaching sea
kayaking, and expedition paddling swears by NOLS
Cookery. If you're planning the minimalist Ramen food route, this book can
change your mind. You dial in how many people and how many days, and it
helps you figure out caloric requirements and food quantities. Instead of
planning individual meals, you bring quantities of staples and prepare good for
you, yummy recipes.

Food "maildrops" - Maildrop care packages are fairly
common in the long distance, thru hiking world (see a great
forum post oriented to the Appalachian Trail, but also applicable to the
IP). BC Rimbeaux used food drops during his 2007 IP trip. Before leaving here's
what he had to say:

I've decided to give the mail system a try. One
Customs official gave me some instructions that should help my
cause, such as:
- Make as complete a list as possible of the contents on the Declaration form.
- Write on the boxes that they are being mailed to a US citizen for personal use.
- Attach a letter to Customs that explains the circumstances (kayak trip, food re-supplies, etc.) of the trip.
Include in the letter to Customs a copy of my passport photo page and a more complete list of the contents of the boxes.

The food drops went without a hitch. Every box arrived
in time at the P.O. I sent them to. A couple boxes showed signs of having been
opened, but nothing looked disturbed inside so I think the Customs guys just
gave them a cursory look.

I recommend doing what I did in terms of listing all
the foods, attaching the letter to Customs, etc. I think the more out front and
complete you are in your descriptions, the less likely Customs would suspect a
problem with the packages.

Charts

Charts are a big deal for the prospective Inside Passage
paddler, and you've got a bunch of different options for what type to use on
your trip. Here's a brief rundown.

Traditional paper nautical charts (check out the classifieds for some charts I'm selling)

To provide complete coverage between Sydney, BC (or the US
San Juan Islands) and Prince Rupert via the main route through Seymour Narrows,
you'll need 23 Canadian, paper nautical charts. This is a mixture of 1:40,000 and
1:80,000 scale charts that provide a decent amount of detail (click here
to see the difference between 1:40,000 and 1:80:000 US charts to give you a
better idea). Canadian charts are 20 bucks (Canadian) a pop. With the current US
exchange rate, that means you're going to need to drop over $450 to get outfitted.
Add on another 2 US charts for the waters between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan (which also
cost around $20 US), and you're now up to around $500. Keep in mind this is for
a minimal amount of charts that provide good navigational coverage. There are
additional charts available of some areas that such more detail (such as
1:20:000 scale) that can optionally be purchased to provide full coverage of the
route. (Don't forget about copies of Chart 1 for both Canada
and the US
so you know what the symbols mean. The previous links are for PDF versions, but
it's not a bad idea to also have paper copies along for the trip.)

Keep in mind that these charts are pretty big, and you'll
need dry storage for the ones you're not using as well as a waterproof map case
on deck for wherever you're located.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service has an online chart catalog as does NOAA
for US waters. In addition to these online resources, chart agents usually stock
free paper catalogs that list all available charts. These are in the form of a
very large chart, with chart numbers clearly associated with rectangular
regions. I find these master charts much easier to use than their online
cousins. If you don't live in Washington, BC or Alaska, and have easy access to
a chart agent, a number of online retailers will send you a copy of the free
master charts. I personally like the Armchair
Sailor in Seattle for Internet service. Bellingham
Chart Printers is also another good source for original and reproduced
charts.

Note: In Kayaking the Inside Passage, Robert Miller
mentions that Armchair Sailor offers "chart portfolios," which are full-size,
black and white reproductions of charts at half the normal price. This is a bit
misleading, since Canadian charts, which account for the bulk of the IP, are not
available due to copyright restrictions.

Digital nautical charts

What about digital charts and just printing out what you
need? That's possible for US parts of the route, since you can freely download electronic
charts and then use free programs like OpenCpn, Maptech's Chart
Navigator or SeaClear IIto print them out. Or better and easier yet, download PDF BookletCharts. However, since the bulk of the trip is in
Canadian waters, you'll need to buy two Canadian
Hydrographic Service chart CDs to provide enough coverage for the trip, East Vancouver Island and
Queen Charlotte Sound. These CDs run about $175 US a piece (down from $299 when
NDI was running the show). Unfortunately the Canadian
government doesn't distribute their electronic maps for free like the US. So you'll be
investing around $350 US for the digital charts. (An anonymous IP paddler who goes by the handle of Edward Teach wrote in to mention that a full set of circa-1997, pre-copy protected Canadian BSB charts are floating around the Internet if you're into modern day, hi-tech piracy.)

Don't forget to toss in the
price of waterproof paper and printer ink, plus the time involved in printing
the areas you want. (Waterproof inkjet and laser printer paper runs anywhere
between .20 to .80 US a sheet, depending on size and type.) For more on do-it-yourself charts, check out this article I wrote for Sea Kayaker magazine.

Jonathan Francis posted a very descriptive blog entry on his experiences using Marine GeoGarage. This has to be the cheapest legal way of getting Canadian nautical charts for the IP. It cost him $194 for all of the Canadian charts; and included in that price was a $175 printer. I highly recommend you read more about this options if you're thinking about do-it-yourself charts. Thanks Jonathan, and best of luck on your stand-up paddleboard trip.

Marine Atlases

A marine atlas is a spiral bound collection of reduced in
size charts. Designed to be a handy and economical alternative to full-sized
charts, marine atlases are popular with cruising sailors. In addition to the
charts, the atlases also contain photos or ports and other information. There
are two brands of atlases that a kayaker might consider for an IP trip that can substantially
reduce the hit on your wallet (or purse) compared to a full set of paper charts.

John Kimantas, author of the excellent Wild Coast series, recently (August 2007)
released two
new marine atlases especially designed for paddlers. BC Coastal Recreation Kayaking and Small Boat Atlas:
Volume 1, British Columbia's South Coast and East Vancouver Island
and BC Coastal Recreation Kayaking and Small Boat Atlas: Volume
2, British Columbia's West Vancouver Island. Splash-proof and spiral bound,
in 1:100:000-scale, these volumes appear quite useful.

Marine Atlas -
This two volume set has been published for over 55 years and comes in a 11 1/2"
x 14" format. I've got an older copy of the Puget Sound to Port Hardy volume and
the monochrome charts are pretty darn small and a challenge to read. I haven't
had an opportunity to see if the newer versions are different (where I live is
landlocked and marine suppliers are a bit of a drive), but if they're not, I
personally think using from a kayak cockpit wouldn't be that easy. Around $50 a
volume (59 and 63 charts, respectively).

Evergreen Pacific Cruising Atlas
- Covers the area between Olympia and Port Hardy (21 overview and 85 detailed
charts) in a 11" x 17" book, these charts are in color and are larger
and easier to read than those found in the competing Marine Atlas. I think this
atlas would be usable for an IP trip in place of standard charts. Unfortunately
there's not a companion volume for the Port Hardy to SE Alaska leg of the trip.
$49.95.

Before you buy, I'd recommend checking out an atlas in
person to see if it's going to meet your needs, in terms of detail and
readability.

Note: Atlases and any non-official charts usually have
a disclaimer that says "not for navigation." Theoretically (and
legally if you're involved in a commercial marine activity) you're only supposed
to use the most recently updated versions of official government charts for
navigation. The disclaimer is kind of a CYA on the part of publishers in case
someone does something stupid and blames their chart.

GPS (this section is really, really old and needs to be updated. Some information may still may be of use)

How about a GPS receiver loaded up with maps and charts to
do the full IP? It's certainly possible. I wrote the bookGPS
for Dummies(be sure to get the second edition that came out in
October 2008, it's much more up to date and has information on marine use of
GPS), so have more than a few opinions on this subject.

For starters, always remember the downsides of using GPS for kayak navigation:

Battery powered, so be sure to bring lots of AAs.

Small screen can sometimes show too much detail,
especially with the nautical charts, and not give you a big enough picture
of a large section of the route.

If water accidentally gets in the case during a battery
change or if the case isn't sealed properly (especially on models that
support memory cards), there's a good chance the unit will fail.

The prudent
mariner never relies on a single navigation tool. Catch my drift? I consider some
type of paper map as well as a compass (and knowing how to use both) essential.

That said, here's my take on the current players in the
handheld, outdoor GPS receiver market plus a few product recommendations:

DeLorme -
new kid on the block in the handheld GPS market - excellent customer
support and very responsive to suggestions - can upload topo maps, NOAA nautical
charts and aerial imagery - the new PN-40 is much improved over the first generation
PN-20 but still has a smallish screen and connection contacts need cleaning
after saltwater exposure. Update - Garmin bought DeLorme, mostly for its InReach satellite communicator technology.Garmin - the 800 pound gorilla of the
industry, lots of products to choose from - stay away from brand new releases
until bugs have been fixed in subsequent firmware releases (usually a couple of
months following initial availability).Lowrance - great products that
match or beat Garmin features at a lower price and support for Navionics nautical
chart chips - no street routing capability, map availability not as extensive as
Garmin, interface takes some getting used to.Magellan - doesn't have the best
reputation for customer support, recent products have been buggy. Consumer
products division was recently purchased by Mio and we'll see where that goes.

As much as I like the Lowrance and DeLorme products (and
dislike the near monopoly lock Garmin has on the industry), I still have to give
the nod to Garmin when it comes to recommending a GPS receiver for using on an
IP trip. My reasons include:

Lots of U.S. and Canadian maps and charts available
(free and commercial)

Excellent battery life

Most intuitive user interface

Durability and proven track record (with certain
models)

Lots of opportunities for
user-based support in various Web forums (if you don't get an answer out of
Garmin)

While any of the AA battery, color-screen Garmin GPS
mapping models will work, my two current favorite models for kayak use are:

Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx -
From doing wilderness search and rescue for a bunch of years, this model is the
gold standard. It's functional and it just works (on the land or water). Decent-sized screen, high-sensitivity GPS receiver, microSD
card so you can load topo maps and marine charts, and priced in the $250 to $300
range. The
CSx model has an
electronic compass and barometric altimeter, that will cost you about $50 more.
Garmin has released newer models designed to eventually replace the venerable 60
series, but I'm not personally sold quite yet. The Colorado model's screen has problems in bright sunlight. And I
think the jury is still out on kayak use of the newest touch-screen
Oregon model. An alternative would be the marine-oriented GPSMAP 76Cx or CSx. The screen is a tiny bit bigger, it floats and is in the same price range as the 60 series.

Garmin eTrex Legend HCx - Smaller screen and case than the
GPSMAP 60 series makes this a true pocket GPS receiver. 24+ hour battery life,
microSD card support for loading maps and charts, high-sensitivity GPS chipset,
and a street price of around $190 (and falling).
The
eTrex Vista is a more pricier version of the Legend with an electronic
compass and barometric altimeter. While the barometer can be useful for weather
forecasting, I prefer the less expensive Legend as it gets better battery life.

Once you have a Garmin GPS, you'll want to load it up with
maps and charts. You have two alternatives for an IP trip - topographic maps or nautical charts (or if you have a deep-pockets
sponsor, you can install both on a memory card).

The topo maps to consider are:

TOPO United States - $116.65 (1:100,000 scale - can be
loaded on multiple GPS receivers without purchasing additional unlock codes -
street price around $85). There is a TOPO U.S. 24K West product ($129.99 retail)
with1:24,000 maps which provide much more detail than 1:100,000 scale.
Unfortunately this map set currently doesn't include Alaska, so don't buy it.

TOPO Canada - $151.65 (1:100,000 scale - can be loaded on
multiple GPS receivers without purchasing additional unlock codes - street price
around $115). Click here
and then select the Topo Canada product to see the level of detail these maps
provide.

Quite honestly, you can get just as good if not better
free, Garmin-compatible US and Canada topo maps. See the Free
Information Sources above for more details.

For nautical charts, you'll want BlueChart Americas. This
product has multiple nautical charts (called regions) on a CD-ROM. When you
buy it ($151.65 suggested retail, street price around $110), you get a
certificate to unlock one region. If you want to load other regions into your
GPS unit, you need to purchase additional unlock codes from Garmin (at $116.65
retail a pop, street price around $85). You'll need up to six regions for the entire
IP route. As you can see, this isn't a cheap proposition. (Here are links to the
Garmin charts for the entire IP - Region
US023-Seattle (Puget Sound), Region
CA001-Inside Passage, Region
CA010-Hecate Strait South, Region
CA011 -Hecate Strait North, Region
US024-Wrangell to Dixon Entrance, and Region
US026-Wrangell-Juneau-Sitka.) Unfortunately, at the present no free
nautical chart alternatives exist. (6/13/2009 - Garmin has recently
announced they won't be updating their BlueChart CD-ROM products. They've moved to the new G2 Vision series of nautical charts which come preinstalled on memory cards and are compatible with newer model Garmin GPS units. Since landforms don't change much, I'd personally be comfortable using the older CD-ROM version of BlueChart Americas. The benefits are you can display the charts on your PC and print them or use for planning plus you can transfer the charts to multiple GPS units, as long as you purchase additional unlocks. If your GPS unit accidentally floods, there's a very good chance the SD card will fry. With the CD-ROM version of BlueChart, you can always just upload the chart set to a new card or the GPS unit's internal memory. With a G2 card, you're out the price of a new replacement if it fries or you lose it. Be sure to check compatibility , since some Garmin models will only work with BlueChart and others with G2.

Garmin has traditionally been very proprietary with their map formats. However recently they've begin to support the ability for users to create and use their own custom maps. If you have a compatible Garmin Colorado, Oregon or Dakota you can view a map that's been saved as a JPG file (such as a scanned paper map) on your GPS unit. The steps to do this are quite simple and don't require you to purchase additional software. You can read all about it here. This offers some interesting possibilities in having nautical charts on your GPS receiver that look identical to the paper versions. It's relatively easy to convert NOAA RNC digital charts to JPG format. Unfortunately, Canadian versions of RNCs are copy protected and you'd have to do some time consuming hacks with virtual printer software to create JPGs. The downsides to using scanned custom maps/charts (aside from the time it takes to produce them) are screen refreshes tend to be slower and you don't have the ability to zoom in and out with the graphics becoming jagged or distorted. In any case, this is a nice move on Garmin's part.

I'll close this brief discussion with a final thought. I'm an old-school
proponent of the "two is one, one is none" rule when it comes to
essential gear. If you're planning on relying on a GPS receiver for extended trip navigation, if it fits
into your budget, I highly recommend carrying a backup GPS unit in case
something happens to your primary.

Paper topographic maps

In his book, Kayaking the Inside Passage, Robert Miller
suggests using 1:250,000 scale topographic paper maps. You can get up the
Canadian part of the route using 11 Canadian topo maps of this scale. These maps
run about $10 US and are readily available from Internet retailers (www.maptown.com
is a good source). I personally think this scale doesn't show enough detail for
decent navigation, but if you're going on the cheap, it's better than nothing.

Keep in mind the primary limitation to using topographic maps is they
are created for land-users. That means no symbols identifying tide rips, beach
composition, current direction, aids to navigation, and other marine-related features typically
found on nautical charts. Paddlers and rowers have successfully used topo maps
for traveling up and down the Inside Passage though.

Digital topographic maps

Bob Saunders, who did the Vancouver to Prince Rupert leg
in 2005 and other parts of the IP in following years, writes in with
a suggestion to use digital topographic maps. He used the eTopo
topo maps and printed the areas he needed on plain paper. He carefully tucked
the maps he needed in a Ziploc bag each day and managed never to get any of the
paper wet during the trip. The eTopo maps retail for $99 Canadian for a region
(you'll need the Southwest and Central), so for under $200 you can have 1:50,000
scale maps of all of the Canadian waters for the trip. Add in the ink and paper
and this is a pretty reasonable investment.For more
information, check out Dave Patton's excellent Web page that compares
different types of commercially available Canadian digital topographic maps.

I asked Bob more about using the digital topo maps and he
kindly replied with some very useful details:

"I printed 3 different sizes of maps (on ordinary
8 x11 paper): 1:250,000 for
an overview; 1:50,000 covering about 16 x 22 km and another 1:50,000 set covering about 8 x 11 km. I'm not certain of the exact number of maps I
printed as I gave some to Graham afterwards and have seemed to have misplaced some others, but I believe it was about 30 of the 8 x 11 km maps
for the Gulf Islands to Campbell River section, about 55 for the Vancouver to Port Hardy section and about 100 for the remainder of the trip to Prince
Rupert. Perhaps half that again for the smaller scale maps. I used less than two cartridges of ink (HP 932 printer). So, I'm guessing the total
cost was about $280 to $300 Can (maps plus ink). I printed more maps than I needed because I didn't have a fixed route in mind when I started the trip -
there are all kinds of variations possible, so I tried to have enough maps to cover some of those variations. I found that was all I needed."

Both the US and Canadian governments make digital versions
of topo maps available for free (see the Free Information Resources above). You
can view and print the maps with any graphics program or use reasonably
priced/free mapping programs like Ozi Explorer, MacGPS, or dlgv32
to view and access georeferenced data in the maps for planning (measuring
distances, creating waypoints, etc.).

I just learned about a cool online company called MapSherpa.com that allows you to create custom Canadian topo maps. Using a Web interface you move around, zooming in and out to define a map's area. A set of tools allows you to add text labels, lines and points to the map. When you're finished you can buy a downloadable 8.5 x 11" PDF file of the map for $2.99 or order a large, printed poster version. This map service is pretty quick and convenient and may appeal to some IP paddlers.

Truthful Disclaimer - If you click on some of the
above book or gear (GPS/software) links and then order whatever from Amazon, I get a teeny, tiny proceed from the
sale. I'm not pimping books and gear, just trying to create a comprehensive IP reference.